News release and related links: “In new estimates released today, WHO reports that in 2012 around 7 million people died – one in eight of total global deaths – as a result of air pollution exposure. This finding more than doubles previous estimates and confirms that air pollution is now the world’s largest single environmental… Continue Reading
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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici
EPIC Warns White House About Privacy Risks of “Big Data”
“In response to a request from the White House, EPIC has submitted extensive comments on “Big Data and the Future of Privacy.” EPIC warned the White House about the enormous risk to Americans of current “big data” practices but also made clear that problems are not new, citing the Privacy Act of 1974 which responded to the challenges of “data… Continue Reading
Assessing Principles of Sustainable Development and Governance in the World Bank’s Project Plans
World Resources Institute: “The World Bank has sought to reinvent itself in the face of a growing number of global development challenges, including economic uncertainty, political unrest, and the increasingly severe impacts of a changing climate. This report examines the extent to which the World Bank is integrating elements of sustainable development and effective client-country governance considerations into the design of… Continue Reading
Monthly Budget Review for March 2014
“The federal government ran a budget deficit of $413 billion for the first six months of fiscal year 2014, CBO estimates—$187 billion less than the shortfall recorded in the same span last year. Revenues were about 10 percent higher; and outlays, about 4 percent lower. Total Receipts: Up by 10 Percent in the First Half… Continue Reading
Progress report on implementation of the Basel regulatory framework
“This updated April 2014 Progress report on implementation of the Basel regulatory framework provides a high-level view of Basel Committee members’ progress in adopting Basel II, Basel 2.5 and Basel III, as of end March 2014. It focuses on the status of domestic rule-making processes to ensure that the Committee’s capital standards are transformed into national law… Continue Reading
McKinsey – How government can promote open data
Michael Chui, Diana Farrell, and Kate Jackson: “Institutions and companies across the public and private sectors have begun to release and share vast amounts of information in recent years, and the trend is only accelerating. Yet while some information is easily accessible, some is still trapped in paper records. Data may be free or come at… Continue Reading
New GAO Reports – Federal Facility Security, SBA, TARP
FEDERAL FACILITY SECURITY: Additional Actions Needed to Help Agencies Comply with Risk Assessment Methodology Standards, GAO-14-86: Published: Mar 5, 2014. Publicly Released: Apr 7, 2014. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION: Actions Needed to Ensure Planned Improvements Address Key Requirements of the Development Company (504) Loan Program, GAO-14-233: Published: Mar 6, 2014. Publicly Released: Apr 7, 2014. TROUBLED ASSET RELIEF PROGRAM: Status of the Wind… Continue Reading
The Thomas Jackson Letters
“Here you will find a unique collection of previously unpublished letters describing facts and feelings about slavery and the civil war as seen from the grass roots level in Reading, Pennsylvania. These detailed, authentic, contemporary reports, most in excellent condition, have all been left to us in the letters of rope-maker Thomas Jackson. The author had… Continue Reading
Multiple Crossings of a Large Glacial River by Canada Lynx
“Rivers may act as barriers to the movement of terrestrial mammals, which could limit dispersal and gene flow. Glacial rivers are particularly hazardous because of the cold water temperature and swift current. Yet, we determined that 2 Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) equipped with GPS collars repeatedly swam across the main channel of the Tanana River in interior Alaska in… Continue Reading
Pew – America’s New Drug Policy Landscape
“The public appears ready for a truce in the long-running war on drugs. A national survey by the Pew Research Center finds that 67% of Americans say that the government should focus more on providing treatment for those who use illegal drugs such as heroin and cocaine. Just 26% think the government’s focus should be… Continue Reading
EFF – Websites Must Use HSTS in Order to Be Secure
EFF: “You would think that by now the Internet would have grown up enough that things like online banking, email, or government websites would rely on thoroughly engineered security to make sure your data isn’t intercepted by attackers. Unfortunately when it comes to the vast majority of websites on the Internet, that assumption would be… Continue Reading
Impact of the crisis on industrial relations and working conditions in Europe
Impact of the crisis on industrial relations and working conditions in Europe, 03 April, 2014 “This report maps the impact of the global financial, economic and public debt crisis on industrial relations and working conditions at national level in the EU Member States from 2008 to end 2012. The impact of the crisis on industrial relations… Continue Reading
